WorldStage– The Rivers State House of Assembly officially halted the impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu on Thursday, February 19, 2026.
The decision, according to sources, was driven mainly by presidential intervention of President Bola Tinubu who has personally intervened for the fourth time in the state’s political crisis.
He summoned Governor Fubara and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to the Presidential Villa, ordering an immediate suspension of the impeachment plot to prevent further instability in the oil-rich state.
Another reason, according to same sources, is that following the meeting with the President, Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike—whose loyalists in the Assembly were driving the impeachment—charged the lawmakers to adhere to the President’s directive and de-escalate the situation.
The sources also cited legal obstacles as another reason, reminding that the process had already faced significant hurdles, including a court order from the Rivers State High Court restraining the lawmakers and the Chief Judge from proceeding.
Additionally, the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, had formally refused the Assembly’s request to set up an investigative panel, citing these existing court orders and the principle of lis pendens (pending litigation).
The impeachment was further complicated by Governor Fubara’s defection from the PDP to the APC in December 2025.
A faction of the APC in Rivers State subsequently publicly opposed the impeachment, warning it would harm state stability.
The Assembly therefore adopted a formal motion to drop the proceedings during a plenary session in Port Harcourt, citing the need for peace and dialogue as requested by the Presidency.
